Suni Lee and Cheryl Reeve bookend a Minnesota-flavored Summer Olympics

The U.S. track and field team produced 34 medals, most since the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, which will host again in 2028, reclaiming its onetime dominance in the purest of Olympic sports.

Noah Lyles won the men’s 100 meters, before faltering in the 200 and revealing that he had contracted COVID.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone dominated the women’s 400-meter hurdles and was spectacular on the winning 4×400 relay.

Gabby Thomas won the women’s 200 meters, and Cole Hocker ran one of the most dramatic races in Olympics history. A longshot, Hocker found himself hemmed in on the inside lane as the men’s 1,500 meters rounded the final curve. To win the final sprint, he had to deke the runner in front of him and cut to the inside, allowing him to go from fifth place to an Olympic record.

Team USA won the overall medal race, with 126 to China’s 91, and tied China with 40 golds. American women won 26 golds, most ever by a single women’s team.

The Olympics shouldn’t be measured with an abacus, though. They should be measured by the stories we didn’t know we couldn’t live without.